I am Shirl Treadwell and I have owned 16 Picards over the years since 2000. I have been lucky enough to own all 3 colours Fauve, Fauve Charbonne and Brindle. I currently have Huffle my handsome fauve charbonne male and Molly my little brindle rehome girl.  I am the club Chair and am the person responsible for getting Picards established in the UK. I started work at 13 being the Saturday girl in boarding/rescue kennels and work experience in an Afghan hound show Kennel. On leaving school I became a Zookeeper specialising in Langurs a primate some of which I hand reared. I also had Tree Kangaroos, Spotted Cuscus, Lemurs, Otters, seals and Sealions on my section. I left the Zoo when I had children and set up my own canine business involving grooming, training, dog walking, pet sitting, home boarding and behaviour consultant to my local vet. I am an accredited pet care professional and still enjoy continued professional development to keep up to date. Pets I have owned include small rodents like Spiny mice, Rats, Boa constrictor, Snowy owl and even a Racoon. I am a farmer’s daughter and have fond memories of fetching the cows in for milking on horseback when I was younger. My parents had dogs, so I have lived with dogs all my life. I have worked in the animal sector for over 40 years and my life has revolved around animals. I enjoy reading and obviously they are all dog books. 

My name is Bernadette Rzadek, and I have two wonderful Picards named René (full name: Picarenzo Stanley ) and Yvette. René was born in July 2021, and he has brightened my life ever since. He is my fifth dog, but my first Picard, and has been joined by the beautiful Yvette who was born in May 2024. René and Yvette are the best travel companions. We visited a few countries together in Europe, and we even went to Africa. Since childhood, I have been interested in animals, especially the relationship between people and dogs. This interest led to one of my specialisations: zooarchaeology. I am an archaeologist by profession.

We are Mon Yee and Russell Ackers and live with a Picard and a Bouvier des Flandres. We first learned of Picards while researching good dogs for a family, after losing our Ridgeback. Of all the breeds we researched, we happened upon the Picard by pure chance when looking at Irish Wolfhounds on Pinterest. We looked into the breed and were instantly taken. We initially expected that actually getting a Picard would be near impossible due to such low numbers, but fortunately, were able to take Goku home in spring 2020. 

I am Nicky King and live with two Picards, Clicquot (6 years old) and her daughter Skyler (2 years old) in Rutland, along with three German Shepherd Dogs. I first came across a Picard whilst on holiday in France in 2014 and was smitten on sight. After much research and much patience, we became the proud owner of Nutmeg of Shropshire (Clicquot) in 2017. Clicquot had a litter of six beautiful puppies in July 2021, one of which was just too precious to give to a new home! She had a further litter of two gorgeous boys in October 2023. I am a qualified canine rehabilitation therapist, canine behaviourist, canine trainer, and canine sonographer. I am a member of the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers and have run a Puppy School franchise for a number of years and have a day job as a secondary school teacher of Economics A level.

My name is Michele Abbott and I live with my two fauvre charbonne Picards in Leicestershire. In 2018 after a lot of research, my partner Karl and I became first time dog owners and proud Picard parents to Oban who is now 5 and more recently a puppy called Claude. We also have two Bengal cats. I work for the Police in a community support role which I have been doing for the past 13 years. When not working, I love nothing more than spending time with the boys, whether it is walking, playing in the garden or simply cuddling on the sofa. I have learnt so much about the breed since having Oban and this knowledge has been put to very good use when we represent the breed at Discover Dogs which we both really enjoy doing. Oban has enriched my life enormously and has developed my passion for this amazing breed. My hope is that more people get to know about Picards; it always surprises me how many people have never heard of the breed. I would like to help to ensure that their future is secure.

I am Frédérique Fremont and I live in France in the Southern part of Picardy. When we moved to the countryside in 2000, my husband wanted a “yellow farm dog”, so we researched breeds and found the Berger Picard, met them at the “Nationale d’Elevage” and fell in love. Rackham was our first dog, first Picard and, beginners’ luck, he was THE dog of his generation: French champion at 18 months, he won the “Nationale d’Elevage” twice. But most importantly, he was our beloved friend, with a wonderful temperament, and amongst all activities we tried with him, he loved herding most. Then we adopted Rêve when they were both 6. I now currently live with Epona (adopted at 4 and 14 ½ in March) and Noailles (7). Our dogs go everywhere with us, we toured Austria with Rackham and Rêve, and Epona saw the little mermaid in Copenhagen. In 2014, with my friend Marité, we founded the rescue association AAA Berger Picard (Shirley is our UK delegate) and for several years I picked up Picards all over France to bring them nearer their forever home across Europe (Denmark, UK, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany) and all of them have a special place in my heart. We traveled by car, train, and even boat (night train is the best). Picards are wonderful, they trusted me every time, we never had a problem and I am so grateful I could participate in so many happy ever after stories.

Hi, we are Christal, Alex, and baby Layla, and we live with Enzo and Halo in Berkshire. Christal first came across the breed like many other who have watched the movies “Because of Winn Dixie” when it was released in 2005, then met the breed in person in 2014 at Crufts and has been falling further in love since. We love the quirky look and the strong individual personality of the breed. Enzo and Halo are both fawn Picards yet totally different in personality. They both very intelligent and good at different tasks yet share a few common quirks.  Layla said she loves how gentle Halo been with her and they love each other, Halo is always by her side. Enzo has been an awesome big brother and always looking out for her!  Christal is a Human and Veterinary Chiropractor. She enjoys keeping Enzo and Halo in tip top shape for shows and adventures all over UK and Europe. 

I am Keara Hooper and I live in London with the wonderful, young Wolfie who is now 2. I have had a dog, or dogs…4 at one point, for the past 40 years, varying from dachshunds to Picardy Shepherds. My husband and I stumbled across Picards at Discover Dogs originally, fell in love with them, did loads of research and were lucky enough to rehome Dora from France in 2018 when she, was 7. Having had a sad past, she was a challenge to start with but became the most wonderful calm lady. Sadly, we lost her after only 5 years in 2022. Now I have my second Picard, I am beginning to get a handle on what makes them tick. They are big, rather loud, particular, way more intelligent than me and very, very special. My working life was in fashion, running my own business in Islington for 20 years, but I am now retired and mainly just do dogs!  Living with Picards is like being on a wonderful rollercoaster and certainly keeps you busy. They are also love bundles and smile makers…I am just so lucky to have found the breed and to share my life with one.

Hi, I’m Sarah Medway and my husband Martin and we live in Kent with our Berger Picard, Lucca, Irish Terrier, Flynn and five Maine Coon cats. We first heard about the Picardy breed when trying to find out what breed Einstein was in the film ‘Back to the Future’ some 25 years ago. Various forums said he was a Berger Picard. He wasn’t at all, but we fell in love with the breed. We parked the idea of getting a dog at that point in our lives and some years later started our Picard research and fate led us to Lucca, our first dog. She thrives on meeting people and all dogs, anything with a heart beat she feels she should befriend. I’m a freelance graphic designer and photographer and help out with design based projects for the club. I’m also a photography workshop leader at The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent. Animals are a big part of my life, conservation and protection of some of the rarest cats and also our rare Picard breed are my passion.

I am Clive Pickering and have had dogs since I was eight years old. I whelped my first litter aged 14 and at one point I had 21 dogs. Many of my dogs were rescue dogs and I have owned 14 different breeds, breeding Toy and Miniature Poodles, GSDs, Bouviers and Picards. I have run a reptile rescue which also included rescuing a terrified and helpless cat that was not at all welcome in the reptile house, but with my persistent attitude and gentle persuasion, I enabled the cat to live for another 18 happy months. I am also the Breed Education Coordinator for Picardys, and will be looking at the revised breed standard as there are some points which need attention.